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Friday, 3 May 2013

It's all about "us"

ALL ABOUT US

Companies continue to include boring, faceless and impersonal "About Us" pages on their websites. This is a huge mistake.

Why? Because it's perhaps your one opportunity to give prospects a quick on-line glimpse into the "why" as opposed to the "what" behind your firm's existence. The About Us page is not a corporate history or corporate services column. It's a way to offer a reason why your firm exists. It's an opportunity to provide key facts (or unusual facts) about your business. But just as important, if you're a small company with few customers, it allows you to vividly paint a picture of how your values and beliefs and vision and (yes) personal history have come together to create a company that offers prospects a different experience, one that no one else can offer quite the same way you can.

The About Us page lets you differentiate yourself when you're not a household name. When you don't have an instantly recognizable brand (and few of us do) you'll discover that people buy the anticipated experience being offered as much as the product or service being offered (your product still has to be first class, however). Okay, so you're keen to improve your page but the prospect of writing about yourself phases you somewhat (it does for many people), or perhaps you have a tendency to brag instead of engage, I suggest you take a look at this:

8 Ways to Improve Your 'About Us' Page......If you're fairly modest, writing your About Us page feels salesy and self-congratulatory, so you stop short of describing your business accurately. If you aren't particularly modest, writing your About Us page is really fun, so you go way over the top. Either way, get over yourself. The end result is too important.

It's from an excellent article in Inc. Magazine by Jeff Haden (click on the title to go to the full article). And finally.... If this doesn't do it for you and you're still procrastinating, consider hiring a professional writer to help you get it done.

The Five Rules of Business Storytelling

About Me

Liverpool born and Toronto raised, I'm a big fan of entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurial mindset. I'm also a sports fan, which in this city (Toronto) makes me somewhat of a true believer -- and a true masochist. The eternal question isn't: What's the meaning of life? It's: Will we ever have a winning team in any sport ever again?